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Upcoming
Industry Events
Union Pacific Night
February 27, 2020
Omaha, NE
namrailwayclub.com/union-pacific-night-0
The Rail Business Awards
February 27, 2020
Royal Lancaster Hotel, London
Railroad Day on Capitol Hill
March 4, 2020
Washington
, D.C.
bit.ly/30Orpds
Norfolk Southern Night
April 23, 2020
Atlanta, GA
namrailwayclub.com/norfolk-southern-night-0
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Track & Roadway Workplace Safety Symposium
May 19-21, 2020
Louisville, KY
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Bring a Member of Congress to Your Company!
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 Washington Update
USMCA Signed Into Law, House Infrastructure Plan Released, FRA Rule Finalized
The USMCA was signed into law by President Trump in January and is on its way to full ratification. It's going through the legislative process in Canada, which could wrap up as soon as the spring. Once that happens, the three countries will enter the implementation phase, and the deal could be in effect by the summer.
House Democratic leaders released a five-year, $760 billion infrastructure plan that aims to revamp the nation's transportation infrastructure as well as water systems, rural broadband, and housing and schools. The plan focuses on mitigating the effects of climate change.
As mandated in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the FRA has issued its final Risk Reduction Program (RRP) Rule. The rule requires: "each Class I freight railroad and each freight railroad with inadequate safety performance to develop and implement a Risk Reduction Program (RRP) to improve the safety of its operations." It takes effect on April 20
th.
The DOT announced that $1 billion in funding is available for the
fiscal year 2020 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. It will accept applications for grants until May 18
th
.
Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, the rail industry's biggest day of advocacy before Congress, will be taking place this year on March 4th. See the section below for further details and registration information.
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If you are interested in learning more about REMSA's government affairs efforts, please reach out to Cooper Ehrendreich
at
ehrendreich@remsa.org.
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Registration for Railroad Day on Capitol Hill now open!
Railroad Day on Capitol Hill will take place on March 4, 2020.
We encourage you to register no later than call of business (COB)
Wednesday, February 26.
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For details, please visit the
the American Short Line And Regional Railroad Association's website.
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REMSA Unveils Website Refresh
R
EMSA is excited to announce our revitalized website is live! The new website features a more user-friendly, visual and search engine optimized (SEO) platform with updated navigation and a mobile-friendly site.
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Contact Madeleine Stern, Membership & Marketing Manager to apply today at:
stern@remsa.org
or (202) 715-2919.
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Daniel Gibson
L.G. Barcus and Sons, Inc.
How did you get started in the rail industry?
During my second year of interning with Barcus, I bid and was awarded my first railroad bridge replacement project. It wasn't until I was hired as an Estimator that I really saw the extensiveness of the rail industry. I have really enjoyed helping Barcus focus on the rail industry. Over the last 5 years I have had the privilege of working with Barcus on the successful completion of 82 rail projects.
What do you love most about your job/the rail industry?
I love how diverse and fluid the industry is. This may not have been the case 20 years ago, but now railroads are embracing change and new ideas. Everyone is asking themselves and their contractors "how can we improve". So now not only am I building railroad bridges, but I am looking at how Barcus can successfully build bridges safer and more efficient, without some of the outdated arbitrary parameters that were previously set before us.
What do you find yourself doing most in your downtime? Hobbies outside of work?
I have an amazing wife and we are blessed with two beautiful daughters. The majority of my time, when I am not working, is spent with my family. My wife and I enjoy being active and we will be running our first half marathon together this June. I enjoy family vacations, experiencing new adventures with my daughters, and being involved in our church.
How do you define the "future" of rail? Where do you think the industry is headed?
Tech savvy and public education defines the future of the rail industry. This industry will continue to fight the pricing battle of rail vs. highway transportation that continues to push the rail industry to explore more technological advantages. With media outlets portraying a negative image on the rail transportation, the industry will have to continue to educate the public on how rail travel and shipment is extremely safe and is more environmentally friendly than the public realizes. I think the industry is already making some headway. We need to remove the image of dirty plumes of coal smoke from people's minds and replace it with the rail system being a safe, efficient environmental friendly means of transportation.
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Interested in being highlighted in the REMSA spotlight? Apply to become Member-of-Month.
Contact Madeleine Stern, Membership & Marketing Manager to apply today at:
stern@remsa.org or (202) 715-2919.
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REMSA Reaches Nearly 200
Followers on Instagram!
Help us celebrate and keep the momentum going! Follow REMSA on Instagram at: @remsa_rail
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Contact Madeleine Stern, Membership & Marketing Manager, with questions at:
stern@remsa.org or (202) 715-2919.
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REMSA Grassroots Program
Bring a Member of Congress to Your Company!
The 116th Congress has more than 100 new members in the House of Representatives and 10 new Senators, making 2020 a terrific opportunity to host a REMSA grassroots event at your company.
REMSA hosted 12 grassroots events with member companies in 9 states in 2019 and has several scheduled for the first few months of 2020. Press releases detailing past events can be found
here.
REMSA's Grassroots Program connects our association's membership with members of Congress to host tours and site visits of company facilities and ongoing projects. It's a terrific way to showcase the positive impact that your company has in the local community, while also building strong personal relationships with your elected representatives. We will also take the initiative to engage with local and regional media outlets to highlight your company and maximize the visibility of the great work that you are doing.
Are you interested in growing your network and highlighting your products and services to the rail industry?
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Industry News
BNSF has released its capital expenditure plan for 2020. The budgetary blueprint calls for $3.4 billion in spending. The largest component of the plan-$2.55 billion-will be for replacing and upgrading rail, rail ties and ballast, and maintaining rolling stock. This year's maintenance program will include approximately 11,000 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work and the replacement of about 489 miles of rail and nearly 2.7 million rail ties. (RT&S)
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is hosting a free-of-charge Track & Roadway Workplace Safety Symposium, its first collaborative safety gathering tailored to the industry's track maintenance and construction groups.On May 19-21, FRA's approximately 180 track inspectors and specialists will gather in Louisville, Kent., at a to-be-announced venue "to share, learn and grow together during breakout sessions related to track or roadway workplace safety," says Federal Railroad Administrator Ron Batory. (Railway Age)
AIM includes $11m in challenge grants to help transport agencies experiment with new ways of doing business, such as exploring service models that provide more efficient and frequent services to encourage the use of public transport. (Railway Gazette)
LIRR's on-time performance in 2019 was 92.4 percent, which is the highest since 2016 when the agency recorded a 92.7 percent on-time mark. In 2018, the on-time performance sagged to just around 90 percent. There were a total of 18,976 LIRR delays in 2019, more than 4,500 less than in 2018.LIRR President Phillip Eng joined in 2018 and instituted the LIRR Forward program. Eng says preventive maintenance, the hard work of employees and finding new ways to solve problems have all helped fuel the LIRR Forward program. (RT&S)
INFRASTRUCTURE Portugal has published a tender worth around €80m for the modernisation of the Pampilhosa - Santa Comba Dão section of the Beira Alta Line, along with the construction of a new line and viaduct to connect with the North Line as part of the Mealhada Agreement project. (International Railway Journal)
VIA Rail Canada last week issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) to pre-qualify interested general contractors for a construction project to upgrade VIA Rail's rail maintenance facilities in Montreal and Toronto. The project calls for construction of new maintenance facilities and upgrading existing ones to accommodate a future fleet of 32 Siemens train sets to be delivered in 2022, VIA Rail officials said in a press release. (Progressive Railroading)
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Member News
Governor Ralph Northam announced that Custom Truck One will invest $2.6 million to expand its existing manufacturing operation in Bedford County. The company will double production at its operation in Forest, Virginia to meet growing demand from its customers, creating 61 new jobs.
"We're proud of the continued success we've had in Bedford County which has allowed us to launch this current on-site expansion with new jobs and investment," said Fred Ross, CEO of Custom Truck One Source. (Custom Truck One Source)
"My board colleagues and I think that Mr. Ballard will skillfully lead us into RTD's next era while also ensuring that the agency's employees remain focused on their service to the public," Rivera-Malpiede said. "On behalf of every board member, we want to thank the community for its input as part of this process. We look forward to working with him in the months ahead." (Mass Transit)
Caric is to develop business with short lines and promote Herzog's suite of on-track maintenance services. Caric previously served as director of Class I sales for Cleveland Track Material Inc./Vossloh North America. He will work under the direction of Herzog Contracting Corp. Chief Commercial Officer Jim Hansen. (Progressive Railroading)
John Deere is commemorating 50 years of being in the skid steer loader business in 2020 and will display a restored JD24 Loader model at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"The anniversary marks half a century of innovation and collaboration between John Deere and our customers," said Gregg Zupancic, product marketing manager, John D
eere Construction & Forestry. "We're excited to hit this milestone and showcase the model amongst numerous technological advances at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020..." (John Deere)
L.B. Foster Fabricated Bridge Products is working with general contractor and international marine construction firm Muhibbah Engineering to install 10,292 sq. ft. of galvanized open steel grid decking for a heavy-duty ship lift application within the Marine Cluster of the Um Alhoul Economic Zone (QEZ-3) Phase 2.1, adjacent to Hamad Port and Doha, Qatar. (L.B. Foster)
Plasser American is currently hiring the following positions:
Assistant Supervisor Electrical (2nd Shift), Electrical Assemblers (1st and 2nd Shift), Electricians, Horizontal Mill Machinist, Hydraulic Mechanics (1st and 2nd Shift), Hydraulic Technician, Junior Electrical Engineer, Junior Software Engineer, Machinist, Mechanics, Quality Inspector - Electrical, Welder / Fitters. Please email your resume to careers@plausa.com. (Plasser American)
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